For some reason, Denver Broncos simply can’t settle into the concept of getting behind quarterback Bo Nix as he leads the team to win after win. Nitpicking Nix has become something of a cottage industry in Denver, and the columnists are having a field day with the quarterback’s inconsistency issues—not that the Broncos care a bit about this.
The latest columnist to take a shot at this issue was Sean Keeler of the Denver Post, who suggested giving Marvin Mims Jr. more touches to make Nix’s life easier. The idea is based on Mims’ explosiveness and his theoretical ability to make big plays, and at that level it does make some sense.
There is a problem with the theory, however. Mims is excelling in the return game because he can operate largely on instinct. The return game is about making unique reads and finding a seam, and Mims excels at that.
As a receiver, though, Mims is still inexperienced, and painfully so at times. For evidence of this, think back to the Broncos hair-raising comeback win against the New York Giants, which featured a fourth-quarter tipped ball that was somehow caught by Courtland Sutton even though he and Mims clogged up the same area.
These are the sorts of mistakes that are going to happen with a young receiving group, and coach Sean Payton knows it. He’s playing the patience game, and Payton is also relying on Nix’s college connection with receiver Troy Franklin, which has been invaluable at times.
The other legitimate part of this possibility is that all options are on the table now given the injury to running back J.K. Dobbins. The Broncos were able to overcome his absence with some clever conservative game planning on Payton’s part, and Nix did his part by not gambling excessively to try and create big plays that weren’t there.
There really aren’t a lot of good options to overcome Dobbins’ absence going forward, however. The Broncos will probably be scouring other teams’ practice squads to find a big back who can help shoulder the load with a few carries, here and there, but they’re not going to find a Dobbins replacement.
"What you see is what they’ve got" is the upshot of all of this, which means the Broncos will probably have to rely on Payton’s clever game planning along with Nix’s ability to fall in line and execute. Which is probably just the way Payton wants it.